Originally Posted by
NikkiD
I think kids at age 10 know the difference between right and wrong. They might not know the legality of it, but they probably know from a moral standpoint if what they're doing is unacceptable and if their parents found out they'd be in trouble. I don't think that peer pressure should be considered - if a normally good child kills a dog because their friends think it would be cool, they still need to learn a lesson about consequences. I don't think that the punishments should be as harsh or severe as those for an adult in most cases, but I still think they should be punished. Nothing wrong with community service, cleaning up garbage or washing windows to learn their lesson.
The problem in our society is that the power to punish has been taken away from the parents. Even grounding a child to their room in some places is considered to be cruel and unusual. I'm not saying parents should be allowed to beat their kids up, but a smack on the ass never killed anyone, and I grew up okay. (I got spanked quite frequently, but I was a brat and I deserved it.) I've also been told that making my son work as a form of punishment is mean. Why? A couple weeks ago I caught him with alcohol in his bag. He's been grounded, and given extra chores around the house. The more he does, the shorter his grounding will be. My point is that legally, we as parents don't have the right to punish as we see fit, even though some of us will anyway. So if we can't do it, maybe the courts can straighten out the mess that the bleeding hearts have made of our kids. Maybe knowing that there are REAL consequences to their actions will make them think twice.
The necessity for having two working parents in most households contributes to the problem as well to some extent. Kids have a bit more freedom and less supervision. It's not the parents' fault that they have to make ends meet, and kids are being left alone a bit younger these days because of that. It might only be an hour afterschool until mom or dad gets home, but in that hour that child could do literally anything. I'm as guilty of this as anyone else, as I've been doing exactly that since Nate was 11 but there is little choice I have had. When you can barely pay rent and bills and groceries, how do you afford a babysitter as well, right?